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Last Place on Earth Closed For Now

Posted at: 07/19/2013 3:24 PM
Updated at: 07/19/2013 10:42 PM

A judge granted a temporary restraining order to the City of Duluth, and the order has shut down The Last Place on Earth.

City Attorney Gunnar Johnson said the order calls for the immediate suspension of operations at the store. A hearing is scheduled for the matter on Tuesday next week, as part of the civil nuisance cases against the owner, Jim Carlson.

Earlier on Friday, the store had stopped selling all synthetic products.

Carlson was not in the store when Eyewitness News stopped by. But Carlson's son, Joseph Gellerman, said advice from his attorney lead to the products being pulled around 3pm Friday afternoon.

The U.S. Attorney's office has filed paperwork to have a warrant issued for Jim Carlson, based on reports that he is again selling synthetic drugs. According to the court document, an undercover officer purchased some type of synthetic substances on Thursday evening, from Carlson himself.

The U.S. Attorney's office believes this is a violation of Carlson's pre-trial release and wants a hearing on Monday to discuss this. This has been granted, and will take place in Minneapolis. The office also wants Carlson jailed until his September trial.

On another note, the store was issued its first citation Friday for allegedly violating the city ordinance about synthetic drugs. Carlson told us on Thursday he fully expected to get a citation.